Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Wedded Wednesday

Ms. Leah Maria of Marital-Bless has started a GREAT new blogging feature called "Wedded Wednesdays", which are basically an opportunity to share a devotion, thought, or piece of encouragement about marriage.

"Phillipians 2:3 Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.

Recently my wife and I sat charmed at an outdoor performance by young Suzuki violin students. After the concert, an instructor spoke briefly on how children as young as two, three and four years old are taught to play violin. The first thing the children learn, he said, is a proper stance. And the second thing the children learn–even before they pick up the violin–is how to take a bow. “If the children just play the violin and stop, people may forget to show their appreciation,” the instructor said. “But when the children bow, the audience invariably applauds. And applause is the best motivator we’ve found to make children feel good about performing and want to do it well."

Adults love applause too. Being affirmed makes us feel wonderful. If you want to rekindle or keep the flame of love glowing in your marriage [or other important relationships] through the years, try showing and expressing your appreciation for your mate. Add some applause and watch the love grow.

What more can I say? We are all victims and we’re all guilty. Let’s start appreciating one another. There’s so much work to be done!"

I am so guilty of this in my marriage sometimes. Occasionally, Justin will say to me, "Am I doing ANYTHING right?!" And I just have to take a big gulp and realize that I have to make just as much of an effort to praise him and thank him for the wonderful things he does as I do nagging him about the soda cans left all over our house! My word of encouragement today is simple--make it an intentional part of your day to thank your spouse and show them appreciation!

An excellent post! It can be so easy for us to get down on our man! Haha, I always kid him about not leaving himself wide open, but really it's that I need to ignore his "mistakes" and appreciate his decisions!

Great post! I'm guilty of it as well. My husband's "love language" (from "Five Love Languages") is words of encouragement, and I know I nag at him sometimes, which is not helpful to anyone. Thanks for posting!